Show #138 August 8, 2015

This one goes out to Emily and The Trade- marks!

Emily- Sylvain Sylvain Sylvain Sylvain 
The Sixteens- The Sweet The Collection
Greater Threat- Greg Pope Fanboy 
All My Love Always- Dead End Kids Breakout 
I Can See- SVT Extended Play
The Hard Way- The Sonics This Is The Sonics
Boomerang- The Paley Brothers The Complete Recordings 
Voice Of America- The Front Lines Where Do We Go From Here? EP
^17- Avril Lavigne Avril Lavigne 
Phenobarbital Love- The Chevelles Rollerball Candy 
War On the East Coast- The New Pornographers Brill Bruisers 
Can't Erase This Feeling- Warm Soda Symbolic Dream
And So It Goes On- Beagle Sound On Sound 
Fragile- Wire Pink Flag 
*Thirteen- Big Star #1 Record 
*Fourteen- The Vandals Look What I Almost Stepped In...
*Fifteen- Eater The Compleat Eater
*Sixteen- Iggy Pop Lust for Life 
*Seventeen- The CRY! Dangerous Game
*Eighteen- Rome Eighteen
*Nineteen- Tegan and Sara The Con
R-I-G-H-T-S- The Fleshtones It's Super Rock Time! 
It's Up To You- The Trademarks Take It Magazine Flexi Disc 
Dose Of You- Nick Lowe Labour Of Lust 
Lead Me To It- The Grip Weeds How I Won The War 
No Regrets- City Limits Dancing In The Heat
The Rumble Under My Hood- The Rubinoos The Rumble Under My Hood 
>Seventeen- Sex Pistols Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols 
Money Talk- The Negatives Shake Some Action Vol 3
I'll Get You Back- Arlis Titan: It's All Pop!
Love Will Lead the Way- Wyatt Funderburk Novel and Profane 
Girls Aren't Just Girls- Z-Cars This Is Z-Cars 7" EP 
Sixteen Blue (Outtake-Alternate Vocal)- The Replacements Let It Be

^Power Pop Peak:  #4 South Korean Goan Chart 11/1/13

*SacroSet:  Songs About Our Teen Years

>Power Pop Prototype:  1977

As readers of this blog know I was not popular in high

Disclaimer:  No one was
murdered at my prom

school.  I had managed to get a girlfriend by my junior year however and empowered by this momentous turn of events, I tried something never before attempted (and no, I'm not talking about with my girlfriend).  After realizing I would be going to the prom, I decided to join the entertainment committee.  My thinking was, if I'm going I should at least try to insure the prom has good music.  This was back in the days when even our regular school dances had live bands so for a prom there was significant money in the budget, though they never told me how much.  


The first meeting that fall was at this especially mean girl's house and I think everyone had the same question:  why is Rick Love here?  For the first time I was with the popular crowd and it didn't feel right to anyone, especially me.  Luckily the chair of the prom committee was a girl name Lauren who, despite being

The Neighborhoods

popular, actually liked good music and even favored the new wave fashions of the time, angular designs, red and black, etc.  We were in the same Spanish class and had talked about music a couple of times.  Even so, I was surprised when Lauren told me about the prom meeting and asked if I wanted to come.  I brought a cassette of several Boston bands with me and remember playing The Neighborhoods for them, who were deemed "too punk."  (In 1981 people associated punk rock more with vomit than music- damn you Sex Pistols

Peter Dayton

for killing punk's already slim chance of commercial success in America!)  I also played Peter Dayton Band for them who were labelled "too weird."  (They were probably right about that one.)  I had perversely thought of blowing everyone's mind with Human Sexual Response's "What Does Sex Mean To Me."  I still smile thinking about how Duxbury's best and brightest circa 1981 would have reacted to the second verse:  

I put my finger to my tongue
And I taste vagina
I licked Betty Ford's boots (it's true)
She wore 'em all over China

Human Sexual Response

In the end I went conservative with my third offering.  I'd like to say it was my plan all along:  start with two bands I knew they wouldn't go for thereby making the third more palatable, but I think it was just dumb luck.  The third group I played in Missy's living room that day was The Trademarks.  I had seen them already so I knew they were great live and I had a sense that they would be professional- providing a safe, fun, vomit-free experience.

The Trademarks
 I wonder if they got their shirts the same place as Peter Dayton?

That was the last prom committee meeting I attended-somehow I was never told where or when subsequent meetings were held.  After talking to Trademarks keyboard player Jack Moran at a show I passed along his information to the prom committee and that was it.  I didn't hear anything again until after Christmas when Lauren told me the The Trademarks were going to play our Junior Prom!  Needless to say, I was shocked- by that time I figured the prom band would be a bunch of longhairs playing stuff like "Dazed And Confused," the guitarist busting out his violin bow in the 17th minute.  (Seriously, has anyone EVER successfully danced to "Dazed And Confused?").  But no, we had The Trademarks and they were AMAZING! 

The prom was at Christo's in Brockton, Mass and the first

person my girlfriend Gina and I saw when we walked in that night was Jack Moran- not only did he remember who I was but he told me I looked great.  (Nice of him to say, but I've seen the pictures and I have to disagree- top hat and tails on a shy 16 year old is not a good fit.  As you will see, the suit was wearing me).   The Trademarks on the other hand looked incredible in matching suits that they changed at each break!  They played originals, including "Magic In Her Eyes," which several of us knew as I'd convinced some friends to buy their single (shown at the top of this post) along with "It's Up To You," featured on tonight's show.  Knowing how important familiar music is at a dance, they also played a great selection of 60's rock and roll covers- Beatles, Stones, Dave Clark Five, Paul Revere and The Raiders and more. Even the teachers and chaperones seemed to be loving it.

The Trademarks were super tight and their vocal harmonies were perfect but the best thing about the band was the way they engaged the audience- energetically jumping around the stage while making eye contact with each of us.  The Trademarks were the greatest band in the world that night.  Don't believe me?  Check out this clip of them playing in January 1981, five months before our prom:



That video was recorded in an empty studio, now picture them playing in front of a few hundred sex crazed teenagers at a prom.  

The Trademarks were not to everyone's taste of course, I

The Trademarks

overheard one girl telling her date "I HATE them- they're punk" but I don't recall seeing her or anyone else in their seats during the band's final set.  Our prom theme that year was "We've Got Tonight" by Bob Seger which I'm happy to say the band did not perform though that irritated a few people too.  Still my friends and I were up front on the dancefloor for every song.  When many of their girls went back to the table, Gina stayed on the dancefloor with me earning major girlfriend points.  It was such an amazing night that I was even okay with the fact that she had to be home at 11:30.  After her mom picked her up I sat in my dark living room and thought about how I had helped make The Trademarks at our prom happen.  No one knew it outside a small group of people but I did, and it felt awesome.  Thinking about it now, I bet sticking my neck out like that, even just the one time in high school helped me become the person I'd be in college.

And okay, here are the prom photos (sigh):

Why yes, I am wearing white gloves, why do you ask?

A walking stick, naturally, completes the ensemble.  (I love the look she is
giving me, no wonder she went home at 11:30.)

No one warned me about "Top Hat Hair"

Here are the links to this week's show, click to stream or right click and "Save Link As" to download:
Hour 1
Hour 2